Podgrad - Španov vrh (Besnica)

Access to the starting point:
From Ljubljana via Zalog:
Take the Zaloška road (exit of the Ljubljana - East bypass) eastwards past Zalog, officially leave Ljubljana at the bridge over the Ljubljanica river, after approx. 1. 5 km you will reach the local signpost for Podgrad, soon on your left you will see the Pri Peclju inn, just after it turn right (signposted Besnica) through the underpass under the railway line (beware, the underpass is narrow and low, so larger vehicles may not be able to pass through!). Drive through the village of Podgrad, the already narrow road narrows even more as you pass the Arbo factory at the end of the village. As soon as we pass the factory, we will see a large sign on the right for the Ostrovrhar Hiking Trail, and we park in a small parking lot on the opposite (left) side of the road.

From Ljubljana via Sostre:
Take the Litija road (exit from the eastern bypass of Bizovik, Sostro) eastwards (towards Sostro). When passing Zadvor and approaching Sostre, follow the signs for the priority road, i. e. first turn left and immediately afterwards turn right. The road ascends to the Pečar Pass and then descends in a few serpentines towards Besnica. When the descent flattens out at the beginning of Besnica, turn left towards Podhrad and drive for some time along the valley (gorge) of the Besnice River. Just after the local sign for Podgrad, just before the Arbo factory, we will see a large sign for the Ostrovrhar hiking trail on our left, and we park in a small parking lot on the opposite (right) side of the road.

From Litije:
We join the road leading west from Šmartno pri Litiji past Zavrstnik and Štangarske Poljane. After Štangarske Poljane, the road climbs some spectacular serpentines to Trebeljevo and then descends less spectacularly into the Besnice valley. Cross a winding village to reach the end of the Lower Besnice. When the road should start to climb to the Pečar Pass, turn right (signposted Zalog) and drive for some time along the valley (gorge) of the Besnice River. Just after the local sign for Podgrad, just before the Arbo factory, we will see a large sign for the Ostrovrhar hiking trail on our left, and we park in a small parking lot on the opposite (right) side of the road.

Path description:
From the starting parking lot, cross the road, go past the sign for the Ostrovrharjeva trail over the footbridge and soon come to a crossroads at the foot of the hill. Turn left here onto the only path that does not start climbing. Walk along the path on the slope or avoid the mud by walking along the edge of the clearing, where there is also a hunting lodge. Just beyond the end of the clearing, where we may have to cross or jump over a small stream, there is a new fork, the straight path should start to climb, and we turn left here, as directed by the sign for the Ostrovrharjevo trail (visible only from the opposite direction). The most beaten path through the sparse forest leads us first over a larger and then over a smaller wooden footbridge, after which we immediately cross the road (beware, the road is not the most transparent due to the bends, so be careful!). On the other side of the road, a sign for the Ostrovrharje trail directs you to a path into the forest. The path first climbs to the left until another path joins from the left over a "ridge". Turn right here, where you will also be directed by the wooden signpost for the "Ostrov. trail". The path climbs steadily across the Murjevka slope and is probably the most challenging part of the trail, both because of the steepness and the route over rocks and tree roots, where some caution is needed and we may have to avoid some fallen trees.

When you are almost to the ridge, there is a new fork. It is more convenient to turn left here and after a few metres reach the macadam forest road at the top of the ridge. Here we finally separate from the Ostrovrharjeva trail: a signpost directs us to the left, so we take the forest road to the right. If you continue straight on at the previous fork, the path runs parallel to and slightly above the forest road, which it joins a little later.

The forest road climbs quite steadily. After a while, it is joined from the right by the parallel track mentioned above, which practically crosses the road and then immediately continues parallel to it on the left for some time before finally joining it later. Staying on the forest road, the slope to the right of the forest road descends steeply downhill for some time until the Grmadnik slope is reached. Here you can optionally take the fork to the right, which climbs steeply to the top of Grmadnik. If this option is chosen, continue south along the track from Grmadnik. If you have stayed on the forest road, follow it below the top of Grmadnik, eventually joining the parallel track mentioned above on your left. The road flattens out a little, however, and soon you reach a crossroads of several paths. It is also reached by the Grmadnik trail on our right.

If we wish, we can optionally turn right (westwards) onto the "blind" and with every metre more overgrown with undergrowth cart track, which descends the slope Grmadnik for approx. 100 metres in height, until it ends abruptly under a power line, from where we can get some views towards Debny Peak and the overgrown ruins of the old Osterberg Castle on the other side of the Besnice valley. The journey to and from this "lookout point" takes about 20 minutes.

Our route continues to the second fork to the left, where we are also directed by the sign for the Borovnice trail to Janče. From here onwards, a fairly sloping road first leads just below an unnamed peak on our left. Here, somewhere, a narrow path branches off to the left towards it, which soon ends in a pothole, from where we can optionally reach this peak marked with a wooden pyramid by feeling (GPS "aims" it at an altitude of approx. 560 m, or approx. 10 m relative altitude above the road). If we continue along the road a little further, we will see Španov vrh to the right of the road in front of us. You will soon see a tree marked with a yellow line on the right. A little further on from this tree, a poorly trodden path branches off to the right at right angles, soon turning left (parallel to the road) and after a short climb reaching Španov vrh, where there are no markings, etc.

From Španov Peak, follow the same path back to the road. From here you can continue along the Borovnice trail towards Vnajnarje and Janče, or return to the starting point, perhaps along one of the parallel trails mentioned above.

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